The tennis sky is gray

By Tom Kosinski Sports Central Columnist

Opening day of the U.S. Open was probably the best day I ever had at Flushing Meadows. As I sat high in section 335 of Arthur Ashe Stadium eating my $8.00 Ceasar Chicken Wrap, it was easy to enjoy the beautiful, sunny, light breeze.

As I stared out over the court, and then past the stadium walls, I could see Shea Stadium and a host of other New York attractions, all gleaming in the sunlight of the day. American hopeful Mardy Fish was on court, but I didn't really pay much attention. My focus was elsewhere, like on my chicken sandwich.

I never would have guessed that as I sat on the north practice court watching Andy Roddick with coach Brad Gilbert that I would be watching American tennis history in the making. Roddick has had a great run in 2003, bolstered by his switch to Gilbert as coach and culminating with the 2003 U.S. Open Men's Singles Championship. I still had my reservations. I've said it before. I really thought he would never really live up to the hype. I was wrong.

All of my favorite moments at the Open actually came from the practice courts. At that one session, I was able to talk to both Andy and Brad for about 20 minutes, and also had a few words with Andy's practice partner, Yevgeny Kafelnikov.

The U.S. Open is the only professional sporting event in the world where you can actually sit and watch the players practice, and be close enough and open enough to talk to them and actually touch them (in my case, shake hands.) No body guards, no security fence, no special barriers. Just a few bleachers adjacent to a court, and the player area literally right in front of you. If you are sitting in the front row, you are practically on the court.

After watching A-Rod for a few, I wandered over to the other north practice courts where I got to hang with Carlos Moya, Xavier Malisse, and Elena Bovina and watch the last few strokes of Andre Agassi's warm-up.

Maybe the brightest highlight of the day was on one of the southern practice courts, where women's doubles champs Virginie Ruano-Pascal and Paolo Suarez bashed serve returns then came over and gave me a little kiss on the cheek. You just don't get that anywhere else in the world.

And finally, I accidentally bumped into American Laura Granville on her way to practice. No coach, no bodyguard, not even a WTA or USTA assistant. If it weren't for the fact that I knew her when she won the NCAA singles title a few years ago, she would have just passed totally anonymous. Oh, and yes, I gave her some advice on how to play at the Open, and although I doubt it really mattered, she did say thank you and promised to keep in touch.

The U.S. Open is the largest and most lucrative single sporting event in the world. That's a documented fact. Over 600,000 people come to the small section of Queens in two weeks, and the tournament is the only one that pays the winners equally $1,000,000 each. And yet, with all the stars, both tennis and actors, actresses, and dignitaries, you can actually wander around and get up close with the people and players.

If you were to go to the Super Bowl, you would be lucky to get within half a mile of anyone with even a touch of fame or superstardom. That is my best memory, and maybe my favorite moment(s). Forget watching any matches, just sitting by a practice court and getting a chance to jaw with the best players in the world, no wall between you.

Before I leave the Open discussion, I want to mention that the best new product introduction at the U.S. Open Tennis Show was by the company I previously profiled here. X-45 Corporation had a highly-successful launch of its new X-45 Pro Series tennis racquets.

While there were demo periods for all the major manufacturers, only X-45 had a line of people who wanted to try it that stretched around the court, and by all accounts, the level of excitement for their demo was the highest most had seen in a while. Cheers for X-45 Corporation. You can see what the entire clamor was about by going to X-45.com.

As for the rest of the calendar year, I'm sort of puzzled. Clearly, Serena Williams didn't have major surgery (as her appearance at the MTV Video Music Awards showed there was no visible scar or knee patch) and it looks like Venus was uninterested in even giving the Open a try without little Sis around. I'm disappointed, but not surprised, and I think that the Williams' have hung it up for the year.

While the WTA season-ending championships are not until November, I'm guessing that we won't see the Sisters around for the end of 2003. The real question is, if the Williams quit tennis at this point in their lives and careers, will anyone even really care about Venus' interior design company and will Serena, who just finished shooting a TV show in Canada, really have a chance at an acting career? I saw Serena's only other appearance on the tube, and while not the worst ever, I don't think there was anything really to write home about.

The tragic death of Venus and Serena's sister Yetunde Price may hasten their departure from the game. It will certainly be a big factor in this year's decisions and may be the straw that sends them out of the game of tennis for good at this young age. Either way, don't look for the Williams until the 2004 Aussie Open at the earliest.

Personally, I don't think anyone really cares about the men's game now that the Open is over. While the quality of men's tennis is very good, the parity in the men's side and its international flavor doesn't lend itself to great television ratings and doesn't ignite the interest of the bulk of the tennis buying and playing public, which is here in the U.S.

The Master's Series Championship will be in Houston this year, which is a plus, and the tournament is run by one of the best promoters in the game today, but even that won't light a fire under most of us. I find it hard to get excited about anything in men's tennis, with the exception of watching Andre Agassi play. And even there, I'm beginning to tire of him making exceptional runs to the semis of tournaments only to be eliminated in some non-descript match with a relatively unknown player.

To sum, the 2003 U.S. Open great, practice courts the best, X-45 Corporation looks like a player in the exclusive tennis racquet business, and tennis for the rest of 2003 looks pretty darn boring. And you know it has got to be pretty bad if I can't get even a little excited about tennis, which is pretty much my life.

Until next time, may all your passing shots be winners.

Article courtesy of Sports Central.